Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

Figure 7.7 Map of th trad winds takn from Edmond Hally, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 16 (1686–92)
observations are repeatedly and
When
performed, errors can be spotted
systematically
corrected. Patterns emerge that can describe
and
explain more complex phenomena, such
and
the movement of the ocean’s currents or the
as
of celestial objects in the night sky.
paths
idea that despite our fallibility and our
This
powers of perception, if enough of
limited
look at nature carefully, enough times, an
us
image will emerge, can be a powerful
accurate
this discussion, you will be focusing on
In
(the science of finding, classifying
taxonomy
naming organisms). Modern biology rests
and
a foundation of the categories meticulously
on
for the purposes of classifying life
constructed
biodiversity.
and
To what extent do taxonomic categories
1.
an underlying order in nature?
reveal
What would count as evidence that
2.
categories accurately describe
taxonomic
evolutionary relationships between
the
and genera?
species
is demanding work—long and
Observation
hours, maintaining rigorous schedules,
odd
to remote places at personal risk and
travelling
handling strange things or ordinary things
cost,
strange ways. Despite this, observation is not
in
described as tedium but as exhilaration.
typically
is this most thrilling thing that we see
What
we observe nature? Would it be any less
when
if the image that emerges from scientific
thrilling
is not in fact revealed to us by nature
observation
but painstakingly co-constructed by both
itself,
and observer?
nature
What supports the argument that
3.
modern system of classification
the
a construct of human knowledge,
is
onto the messiness of the
superimposed
III. Methods and tools
III. Methods and tools
motivator to look at the world scientifically.
For discussion
Patterns and order
world in order to make sense of it?
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